# GEMFIND README — Transcribed from `README.TXT` > Transcribed verbatim from `0_archive/extracted/README.TXT` (timestamp 1997-12-08, file dated 1997-12-07 in body). Only this front-matter heading and this note have been added. Original wording, line breaks, spelling, and any typos preserved. --- GEMFIND.EXE Australian Gemstone Locations Copyright Michael Paine 1997 This is shareware. If you find it useful then please support the shareware concept by sending a small payment to the author (see below). ## INTRODUCTION This program provides a comprehensive guide to the locations of gemstones within Australia.The main user interface is a symbolic map of Australia. The user can select a gemstone from a drop-down list and the locations containing that selection are displayed on the map. The user can select additional gemstones, zoom in on an area of interest or display a list of all gemstones at a particular site. The program is intended to be a companion to the excellent book "How and where to find gemstones in Australia" (1987 edition), edited by Bill Myatt and published by Lansdowne Press. The program includes page references for about 300 mapped locations (many of which are not included in the index to that book). The program arose from an idea I had to better plan holidays around Australia. If I am travelling to a certain area then I would like to know the fossicking possibilities in that area. One neat feature of the program is that gemstone locations are indicated by concentric circles which increase in radius as gemstones are added to the displayed list. In this way locations which are rich in gemstone variety stand out by their multicoloured concentric circles. ## INSTALLATION AND TECHNICAL Any PC which can run Windows 3.1 or higher can be used but it must have a mouse. The program is written in Microsoft's Visual Basic 3.0 (the last 16-bit version). It is distributed as a self-extracting EXE file (GEMZIP.EXE). Copy this to a temporary directory on the C: drive and type GEMZIP [enter] to start the unzipping process. When this is complete type INSTALL [enter] to start the installation process.In addition to the Visual Basic runtime file GEMFIND.EXE and the data files (*.DAT) which are automatically placed in a new directory called c:\VB_RUN, there is a DLL file which needs to be copied to the c:\windows\system. directory. If you elect not to copy this file (VBRUN300.DLL) under the "install" program you should do it manually, or see if the program will run with your existing files. The files in the temporary directory should be deleted when the program is succsessfully installed. When installation is complete you can run the program from Windows by selecting FILE/RUN and entering c:\vb_run\GEMFIND.EXE You might like to add an icon to Program Manager to automatically launch the program (FILE/NEW/PROGRAM_ITEM Description="Gemfind", Command line= "c:\vb_run\gemfind.exe", Working directory="c:\vb_run"). ## USING THE PROGRAM The program opens with a map of Australia, showing state borders and key cities. When the map is displayed there are several actions possible: a) Select a gemstone by typing the start of the gemstone name in the combo box in the bottom right of the screen. A drop down (up!) list will appear. Click on the gemstone of interest and the locations associated with that gemstone are displayed, including town names. b) Click on the OPT button for a form with several options. These include whether to display the town names on the map, the scale of the map (kilometres across the screen) and the town on which the map is centred. Clicking on OK returns to the map, which is redrawn with the new parameters. The HELP key is just fun - these notes are the only help. c) Using the mouse, drag a rectangle over a portion of the map to zoom in on an area of interest. The map is redrawn based on this rectangle, with locations of the last gemstone (if any) displayed. A BACK button allows return to the previous scale. d) Click on a location circle/dot to see details for that location, including a list of gemstones associated with that location. You can browse through the list of locations and click on one to see a list of gemstones for that location (plus pages numbers for the book). ## PRINTING Any map that is displayed can be sent to the Windows Default Printer by pressing the PRT_MAP button. Unfortunately the quality of the printout might not be good because Visual Basic is rather lazy and just sends a screen dump the printer (typically 96 dpi). An alternative is to hold down the ALT key and press the PRINT SCREEN key. This places a copy of the active window onto the clipboard. You can then load Paintbrush and select EDIT/PASTE to paste the map into the picture and work on it within Paintbrush (set PALLETE and TOOLBOX off to paste to the full screen). Details about EVERY location/town contained within the map area can be printed by pressing the PRT_LOC button (note that a location does not need to be currently shown on the map for it to be included in the printout - select @ALL gemstaones for an indication of how many location will be in a printout). The printout includes for each location: the state, the page number from the reference book and a list of all gemstones at that location. Be careful not to select PRT_LOC when the full map of Australia is displayed or you will end up with dozens of pages of printout. The default font is Arial but another font can be selected at the Welcome screen. ## HISTORY OF APPLICATION This program was originally prepared as an Open Access database. This ran under DOS and drew "maps" at text resolution on the screen. The original mapping grid for NSW was based on the authors work some 20 years ago at the NSW Department of Motor Transport. He and Owen Johnstone carried out some ground-breaking mapping work for planning vehicle roadworthiness inspections in NSW, using the brilliant HPL Hewlett Packard programming language - designed for enginers and scientists (still nothing to beat it today but I don't think a version is available for IBM-compatible PCs). In converting the program to Windows it was decided: 1) To stick to a 16-bit operating system so just about anybody could run it on any PC, including old laptops in the field - take it with on your fossicking trip! 2) To use Visual Basic 3.0 because it has reasonable graphics capabilities and it creates compact EXE files (also I have a licensed copy of the Standard Edition) 3) To use custom VB random access data files rather than an MS Access database because to "access" Access 2.0 you need about 2Mb of DLL and other files (downloading over the Internet would be a nightmare). In any case the custom data files are much quicker (I reluctantly use MS Access to maintain the data files then convert them within VB3.0). 4) To use a custom, symbolic map of Australia rather than a detailed map, to save space and avoid copyright problems. 5) To perpetuate the old DMT grid system (even though it gives SA & WA negative X values and TAS negative Y values) because it was too tedious to use a more recent, recognised grid system, such as GPS. (if anyone wants to volunteer to enter official grid points for each town contact me). 6) To avoid VB's SETUPKIT - despite downloading the latest upgrades and tips from MS it still kept crashing on me. Instead I have written a small batch files which runs from DOS - or you can easily make the directories and copy the files yourself (see INSTALL.BAT for the requirements). Versions: V1.2 First shareware version. VB random files used for data storage. V1.4 Allow font selection, show a scale at foot of map. ## SHAREWARE This is shareware. - try before you buy. Many hours went into entering data and writing the mapping program. If you find this program useful please send a cheque for AU$40 payable to Vehicle Design and Research P/L. The address is Vehicle Design and Research P/L 10 Lanai Place Beacon Hill NSW 2100 Income received will go towards enhancements to the program and additional data. A register of users will NOT be maintained - any updates will be posted on the web site and it is up to users to download them. http://www1.tpgi.com.au/users/mpaine/gemfind.html Comments are welcome, but please don't expect me to make major changes as a matter of priority. Michael Paine 7 December 1997 --- ## Implementer's notes (not part of original README) Findings from this transcript that affect the project plan: 1. **The coordinate grid has a real provenance.** It is the "DMT grid" — derived from work Michael did at the NSW Department of Motor Transport ~20 years before 1997 (so ~1977), with Owen Johnstone, for planning vehicle roadworthiness inspections, originally written in HPL on Hewlett-Packard hardware. This is far more interesting than "hand-drawn approximation" — it is a real engineering grid that pre-dates the program by two decades. **About page material.** 2. **Michael explicitly invites someone to convert his grid to GPS** (decision 5): *"if anyone wants to volunteer to enter official grid points for each town contact me"*. The geocoding step of Phase 1 is therefore not just compatible with the author's intent — it is doing exactly what the author asked for, 29 years later. 3. **Multi-gemstone selection IS faithful.** The README's INTRODUCTION says: *"The user can select additional gemstones"* and describes the famous concentric-circles UX: *"gemstone locations are indicated by concentric circles which increase in radius as gemstones are added to the displayed list. In this way locations which are rich in gemstone variety stand out by their multicoloured concentric circles."* The project plan §4 Phase 2 calls multi-select a feature to "resist" — this is incorrect on faithfulness grounds. **Plan correction needed before Phase 2.** 4. **`@ALL` is a UI sentinel, not data.** GEMSTONE.DAT begins with `@ALL` as the first 16-byte record. It is the "show every location" option in the dropdown, not a gemstone. Distinct from the `+` sentinel found in GEMLOC.TXT (which marks anchor cities). Both must be filtered when building `gemstones.json`, but for different reasons. 5. **`CORUNDUM` is correctly spelled in the binary.** GEMSTONE.DAT contains `CORUNDUM` (correct). The `CORRUNDUM` typo only appears in the spreadsheet export's `FAMILY` column — likely introduced when Michael maintained the data in MS Access. `CHALCENDONY` is genuinely Michael's spelling (present in the binary). Both still get corrected; CHANGES.md should note the provenance difference. 6. **Version confirmed: V1.4.** The plan's reference to "v1.4 final" matches. 7. **Original web URL was `www1.tpgi.com.au/users/mpaine/gemfind.html`**, not the current `vdrsyd.com/aoaug/gemfind.html`. Michael has moved hosting at least once. Worth a sentence on the About page. 8. **Distribution timestamp:** Files inside the archive are dated 4–8 December 1997. README signature is 7 December 1997. The `1988` "last modified" date that `file` reports on `GEMZIP.EXE` is a quirk of the PKZIP Implode method's directory metadata, not the real date. 9. **No screenshots inside the archive.** `GEM1.JPG`, `GEM2.JPG`, `GEM3.JPG` referenced in the plan must come from the website. Need to fetch from `vdrsyd.com/aoaug/gemfind.html` (and Wayback as fallback) in a separate step.